Written Discovery: Interrogatories, Request for Production of Documents and Things, and Request for Admission.

Initially, after suit has been filed, your lawyer will send the other side a series of questions that the Defendant has to answer in writing, under oath. Those questions are called Interrogatories. Interrogatories are limited to 30 in number unless there is a good reason for why you need more and then the judge has to approve it first.
At the same time, your lawyer will send Request for Production of Documents to the Defendant, or his attorney. This is a formal request for the other side to produce documentation that they will use to combat the lawsuit.
And lastly, Request for Admissions are usually done after all the written discovery and depositions described below are completed. In this process, your lawyer can ask the other side to admit certain things to conclusively establish facts prior to trial. This usually streamlines the trial and highlights the areas of disagreement for the court and the jury. It can also serve as a basis for a motion for summary judgment.

Party Depositions.

In every case, the other side’s lawyer gets to sit down across the table from you and ask you questions about your case. These questions could be questions about the car wreck, about your prior medical history, or about your current injuries, treatment, or prognosis. This is usually pretty informal and most attorneys are just interested in obtaining information directly from you. Your lawyer will set next to you the whole time and object to anything that might be objectionable.
At the same time, your lawyer will likely depose the defendant and ask questions about the wreck to establish his or her negligence, recklessness, etc.

Other Depositions.

If there are witnesses to the car wreck or other witnesses, including doctors, that might testify at the trial, they can be deposed too. The deposition puts the witness on the record stating what his or her testimony might be. If the witness testifies differently at trial, the lawyer can pull out the deposition and show the jury or the judge that the person either lied in court or lied in his or her deposition.

Defense Medical Examination (DME)

The Defense attorney is entitled to hire a doctor to examine you if your injuries are still persisting and those injuries are observable. That doctor is then required to write a report with his or her findings and that report must be filed with the court. The Defense attorneys usually call this an independent medical examination, but there is nothing independent about it. The doctor is hired by the Defense attorney and paid by the insurance company. That bias usually comes out during the doctors deposition.
Alternatively, the Defense attorney may hire a doctor just to review your medical records and give an opinion. That type of “record review” is not the same as a DME. The same bias applies and the doctor never sees you in person, which limits his or her ability to truly and honestly evaluate your injuries and treatment.
After all of this is complete, your case is typically ready for trial. Your lawyer will likely set the trial date somewhere in the middle of this process. This trial date gives you and your lawyers a date to work towards.
I hope this helps to shed some light on the process that we call discovery. Please note that this is a general overview, or a snapshot, if you will, of a very long and complicated process. Every case is different so some of these tools may not be used in your case.
As a personal injury law firm, we do these things on a daily basis and we can help you navigate this complicated process. Contact us for a free personal injury consultation and we will walk with you through this difficult time.
Posted by Brandon S. Osterbind, Esq.
[post_title] => Four Stages of Discovery in a Typical Personal Injury Case
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => four-stages-of-discovery-in-a-typical-personal-injury-case
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2016-01-21 15:23:50
[post_modified_gmt] => 2016-01-21 15:23:50
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://overbeylaw.com/?post_type=news&p=295
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => news
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[1] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 287
[post_author] => 1
[post_date] => 2014-09-30 21:27:52
[post_date_gmt] => 2014-09-30 21:27:52
[post_content] => Car wrecks account for 17.3% of all traumatic brain injuries (TBI) which is second only to falls. Additionally, car wrecks are the leading cause of TBI related deaths.
It can be difficult to identify a traumatic brain injury after a car wreck. If you are suffering from a TBI, then you will likely have difficulty identifying the symptoms and realizing that you need medical attention. You should rely on your family and close friends to help you identify the symptoms of TBI such as:

Headache

Fatigue

Sleep Disturbance

Memory Problems

Balance Problems

Concentration Problems

Irritability

If you are suffering any of these symptoms, you should seek medical attention right away for a possible TBI. Sometimes your TBI can be treated and, with help, you can manage your symptoms. Other times, the injury may be permanent. You should be compensated fairly for such serious harms and losses. These cases are very delicate and you should call an attorney with experience handling traumatic brain injuries to discuss your next steps.
Posted by Brandon S. Osterbind, Esq.
[post_title] => How to Identify a Traumatic Brain Injury
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => how-to-identify-a-traumatic-brain-injury
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2016-01-21 15:25:54
[post_modified_gmt] => 2016-01-21 15:25:54
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://overbeylaw.com/?post_type=news&p=287
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => news
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[2] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 113
[post_author] => 1
[post_date] => 2014-09-12 14:05:54
[post_date_gmt] => 2014-09-12 14:05:54
[post_content] => There are many things that you can and should do if you have been injured in a car wreck and you can read or watch a video about them here. But most folks do not realize that there are also certain things that may kill your personal injury case and your lawyers ability to recover what your injury is worth.
So here is a list of the most common problems we face in working up personal injury cases:

1. Understating your injuries.

Many times, people don’t want to think that they have been injured so they say that they are fine in an optimistic effort to avoid falling into a litigation-hungry stereotype perpetuated by corporate America. Most, if not all, of our clients are not litigation hungry. In fact, they are litigation averse. They do not want to sue another person or even an insurance company, but find themselves in a situation where they are left with no choice. If you are injured, follow our advice here.

2. Failure to seek treatment and/or gaps in treatment.

Money is usually a problem when it comes to seeking treatment. Without health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, most people cannot afford to seek medical treatment. The insurance company and the jury for that matter, will interpret your failure to seek medical attention as a red flag that you are not injured and not in pain. People who are in pain seek medical attention. If you were injured in a car wreck, you need to seek medical attention for your injury. Don’t ignore the pain thinking it will go away. It might go away, it might not go away. Depend on your doctor's expertise in making these decisions. Don’t go to a doctor just to help your case, go to a doctor to get better.
One quick and easy fix is to increase your medical expense payments on your auto insurance policy. You will pay an additional premium for this benefit but the cost is minimal. Call your insurance company today and increase your med pay benefits to at least $20,000.00.

3. Failure to follow doctors orders.

If your doctor refers you to a specialist, go and see the specialist. If your doctor refers you to physical therapy, go to every physical therapy appointment until your therapist releases you. If your doctor or physical therapists sends you home with a home exercise program, do every exercise as instructed every day. If you doctor says your only option is surgery or live in pain for the rest of your life, get the recommended surgery. Your doctors are experts in their fields, trust them to develop a plan that will heal your injuries and increase the quality of your life. Do what they say and your chances of physically recovering from your injuries are good. That is the most important thing you can do.

4. Waiting till the last minute to hire a lawyer.

Preparing to file suit takes time. Your lawyer needs to know how much to sue for, in what court, etc. To do that, your lawyer needs to review all of your medical records and any records relating to prior injuries to the injured part of your body. I takes weeks to get medical records from your doctors and it takes more time to organize them in such a way to review them to determine the extent of your injuries. You have two years to file suit or you are forever barred from recovering anything. Don’t wait until a month before the two years is up to hire a lawyer. If you wait too long, there might not be a lawyer out there willing to take your case.
Don't make these Mistakes
I hope this post helps you make good decisions about your body, your health and your recovery from your collision related injuries. If you find yourself in one of these positions, we provide free consultations for personal injury cases and we are here to serve you. We will tell you what you should do in your circumstances and help you recover. Visit our frequently asked questions page to learn more.
[post_title] => Four Mistakes That Will Kill Your Personal Injury Case
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => four-mistakes-to-kill-your-personal-injury-case
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2016-01-23 15:44:10
[post_modified_gmt] => 2016-01-23 15:44:10
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://overbeylaw.com/?post_type=news&p=113
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => news
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[3] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 112
[post_author] => 1
[post_date] => 2014-08-17 14:05:22
[post_date_gmt] => 2014-08-17 14:05:22
[post_content] => You’ve heard the saying, “there is no time like the present.” If you have been in an automobile collision, you should hire a lawyer right away. If you’ve just been injured in a collision, hire a lawyer now. If you were injured in a collision a year ago, hire a lawyer now. This one small step will accomplish several goals that inure to your benefit.
First, the insurance company adjuster will stop calling you. Everyone is different and everyone’s case is different. However, everyone gets phone calls from an insurance company adjuster after she or he has been injured in an automobile collision. If you have been in a serious wreck, you may still be in the hospital recovering from your injuries. Contact a lawyer right away and he or she can stop those phone calls by sending a letter of representation to the adjuster. Our lawyers will come to you if you are unable to come to us. You shouldn’t make any statements to adjusters while dealing with your injuries and our lawyers can protect you from preying insurance company adjusters.
Second, your lawyer can help get you the medical attention you need. Your lawyer can help you get access to medical payments from your car insurance company or other sources. If you have health insurance, most health insurance companies are required to pay benefits even though someone else might be liable for your injuries. Medical providers are now required under the Code of Virginia to submit your bills to your insurance company for payment. Our lawyers can help you deal with your own insurance company to obtain benefits to which you are entitled.
Lastly, your lawyer can reduce the burden on you while you recover from a traumatic event. You worry about getting better, and we worry about the legal process. The peace of mind that comes with eliminating that burden of adversarial negotiations and litigation is worth its weight in gold. If you hire the right personal injury lawyer, you will have that peace of mind that you desperately need.
Our lawyers at Overbey, Hawkins & Wright care about the folks in our community because we live and work in the greater Lynchburg area including Campbell County, Bedford County, Amherst County, Appomattox County, and more. We have relationships with medical doctors and offices around town and we care how you are treated both personally and medically. Our lawyers talk to and negotiate with car insurance company adjusters daily. Our lawyers will stop those annoying phone calls, we will help you get the treatment you need to recover from your injuries and we will do everything we can to provide you comfort during this difficult time in your life.
Call us for a free personal injury consultation today.
Posted by Brandon S. Osterbind, Esq.
[post_title] => When Should I Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => when-should-i-hire-a-personal-injury-lawyer
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2016-09-23 14:39:20
[post_modified_gmt] => 2016-09-23 14:39:20
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://overbeylaw.com/?post_type=news&p=112
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => news
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[4] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 282
[post_author] => 1
[post_date] => 2014-06-01 21:19:40
[post_date_gmt] => 2014-06-01 21:19:40
[post_content] => If you have a legitimate personal injury case and the insurance company will not settle for a fair value on you case, then the only way to get the insurance company to pay is to file suit and go to court.
Our lawyers are trained to draft legal pleadings and take your case to court. Your lawyer will explain that, depending on the size of your case, you will have two choices: (1) file suit in circuit court, or (2) file in General District Court.
The difference is simple. General District Court permits personal injury suits up to $25,000. If your claim is worth less than $25,000, then it would be more cost effective to file in General District Court as opposed to Circuit Court. In GDC there is no discovery, no interrogatories, no depositions, no significant motions to limit evidence and no need to bring in expensive doctors to testify. It is also a lot faster to get to a trial. All of that means that your case will be cheaper to try but it also comes with its restrictions. For example, there is no process for a jury trial in GDC and you leave your case in the hands of a judge. Additionally, you are limited to $25,000.
If you are unhappy with the result of your GDC trial, then you can appeal to Circuit Court and you can get a new trial with a jury.
You should seek the advice of a qualified personal injury lawyer to help you with this complicated decision process. At Overbey, Hawkins & Wright, we offer free consultations to discuss matters such as this with you.
Posted by Brandon S. Osterbind, Esq.
[post_title] => No Settlement? How Do I Go to Court?
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => no-settlement-how-do-i-go-to-court
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2016-01-21 16:09:18
[post_modified_gmt] => 2016-01-21 16:09:18
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://overbeylaw.com/?post_type=news&p=282
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => news
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
)
[post_count] => 5
[current_post] => -1
[in_the_loop] =>
[post] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 295
[post_author] => 1
[post_date] => 2014-10-02 21:42:50
[post_date_gmt] => 2014-10-02 21:42:50
[post_content] => After your lawyer files suit, you will go through several stages of a process called discovery. Most people do not know what that means or what it looks like, so I will give you a snapshot here.

Written Discovery: Interrogatories, Request for Production of Documents and Things, and Request for Admission.

Initially, after suit has been filed, your lawyer will send the other side a series of questions that the Defendant has to answer in writing, under oath. Those questions are called Interrogatories. Interrogatories are limited to 30 in number unless there is a good reason for why you need more and then the judge has to approve it first.
At the same time, your lawyer will send Request for Production of Documents to the Defendant, or his attorney. This is a formal request for the other side to produce documentation that they will use to combat the lawsuit.
And lastly, Request for Admissions are usually done after all the written discovery and depositions described below are completed. In this process, your lawyer can ask the other side to admit certain things to conclusively establish facts prior to trial. This usually streamlines the trial and highlights the areas of disagreement for the court and the jury. It can also serve as a basis for a motion for summary judgment.

Party Depositions.

In every case, the other side’s lawyer gets to sit down across the table from you and ask you questions about your case. These questions could be questions about the car wreck, about your prior medical history, or about your current injuries, treatment, or prognosis. This is usually pretty informal and most attorneys are just interested in obtaining information directly from you. Your lawyer will set next to you the whole time and object to anything that might be objectionable.
At the same time, your lawyer will likely depose the defendant and ask questions about the wreck to establish his or her negligence, recklessness, etc.

Other Depositions.

If there are witnesses to the car wreck or other witnesses, including doctors, that might testify at the trial, they can be deposed too. The deposition puts the witness on the record stating what his or her testimony might be. If the witness testifies differently at trial, the lawyer can pull out the deposition and show the jury or the judge that the person either lied in court or lied in his or her deposition.

Defense Medical Examination (DME)

The Defense attorney is entitled to hire a doctor to examine you if your injuries are still persisting and those injuries are observable. That doctor is then required to write a report with his or her findings and that report must be filed with the court. The Defense attorneys usually call this an independent medical examination, but there is nothing independent about it. The doctor is hired by the Defense attorney and paid by the insurance company. That bias usually comes out during the doctors deposition.
Alternatively, the Defense attorney may hire a doctor just to review your medical records and give an opinion. That type of “record review” is not the same as a DME. The same bias applies and the doctor never sees you in person, which limits his or her ability to truly and honestly evaluate your injuries and treatment.
After all of this is complete, your case is typically ready for trial. Your lawyer will likely set the trial date somewhere in the middle of this process. This trial date gives you and your lawyers a date to work towards.
I hope this helps to shed some light on the process that we call discovery. Please note that this is a general overview, or a snapshot, if you will, of a very long and complicated process. Every case is different so some of these tools may not be used in your case.
As a personal injury law firm, we do these things on a daily basis and we can help you navigate this complicated process. Contact us for a free personal injury consultation and we will walk with you through this difficult time.
Posted by Brandon S. Osterbind, Esq.
[post_title] => Four Stages of Discovery in a Typical Personal Injury Case
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => four-stages-of-discovery-in-a-typical-personal-injury-case
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2016-01-21 15:23:50
[post_modified_gmt] => 2016-01-21 15:23:50
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://overbeylaw.com/?post_type=news&p=295
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => news
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[comment_count] => 0
[current_comment] => -1
[found_posts] => 37
[max_num_pages] => 8
[max_num_comment_pages] => 0
[is_single] =>
[is_preview] =>
[is_page] =>
[is_archive] => 1
[is_date] =>
[is_year] =>
[is_month] =>
[is_day] =>
[is_time] =>
[is_author] =>
[is_category] =>
[is_tag] =>
[is_tax] =>
[is_search] =>
[is_feed] =>
[is_comment_feed] =>
[is_trackback] =>
[is_home] =>
[is_404] =>
[is_embed] =>
[is_paged] => 1
[is_admin] =>
[is_attachment] =>
[is_singular] =>
[is_robots] =>
[is_posts_page] =>
[is_post_type_archive] => 1
[query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => fe686651fbb135d10039ca125742c7f2
[query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] =>
[thumbnails_cached] =>
[stopwords:WP_Query:private] =>
[compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => query_vars_hash
[1] => query_vars_changed
)
[compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => init_query_flags
[1] => parse_tax_query
)
)

After your lawyer files suit, you will go through several stages of a process called discovery. Most people do not know what that means or what it looks like, so I will give you a snapshot here.

Written Discovery: Interrogatories, Request for Production of Documents and Things, and Request for Admission.

Initially, after suit has been filed, your lawyer will send the other side a series of questions that the Defendant has to answer in writing, under oath. Those questions are called Interrogatories. Interrogatories are limited to 30 in number unless there is a good reason for why you need more and then the judge has to approve it first.

Car wrecks account for 17.3% of all traumatic brain injuries (TBI) which is second only to falls. Additionally, car wrecks are the leading cause of TBI related deaths.

It can be difficult to identify a traumatic brain injury after a car wreck. If you are suffering from a TBI, then you will likely have difficulty identifying the symptoms and realizing that you need medical attention.

There are many things that you can and should do if you have been injured in a car wreck and you can read or watch a video about them here. But most folks do not realize that there are also certain things that may kill your personal injury case and your lawyers ability to recover what your injury is worth.

So here is a list of the most common problems we face in working up personal injury cases:

You’ve heard the saying, “there is no time like the present.” If you have been in an automobile collision, you should hire a lawyer right away. If you’ve just been injured in a collision, hire a lawyer now. If you were injured in a collision a year ago, hire a lawyer now. This one small step will accomplish several goals that inure to your benefit.

First, the insurance company adjuster will stop calling you. Everyone is different and everyone’s case is different. However, everyone gets phone calls from an insurance company adjuster after she or he has been injured in an automobile collision. If you have been in a serious wreck, you may still be in the hospital recovering from your injuries. Contact a lawyer right away and he or she can stop those phone calls by sending a letter of representation to the adjuster.

If you have a legitimate personal injury case and the insurance company will not settle for a fair value on you case, then the only way to get the insurance company to pay is to file suit and go to court.

Our lawyers are trained to draft legal pleadings and take your case to court. Your lawyer will explain that, depending on the size of your case, you will have two choices: (1) file suit in circuit court, or (2) file in General District Court.

Practice Areas

Practice Areas

Note: The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.